Frontier models, AI policy, U.S.–China rivalry, and the international governance architecture.
AI capability has become a measure of national power and a geopolitical race for superiority. The competition covers frontier model development, U.S.–China rivalry, industrial policy, export controls, military integration, and the international safety and governance architecture forming around them.
Publications
What Is Maven Smart System and What Does It Do?
This Critical Questions piece provides a detailed overview of Maven Smart System, the Palantir-built AI-powered software platform that has enabled a revolution in military targeting. It examines how MSS works, the problems it addresses, its use of large language models via Anthropic, and its role as a core component of the Pentagon’s push for Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control.
China’s Challenge to American AI Leadership
This congressional testimony before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy examines China’s challenge to American leadership in artificial intelligence. It outlines the strategic, industrial, and policy choices facing the United States in the U.S.–China AI competition.
Opportunities to Strengthen U.S. Biosecurity from AI-Enabled Bioterrorism: What Policymakers Should Know
This report examines how advances in artificial intelligence are reshaping biosecurity threats and the bioterrorism risk landscape. It identifies concrete steps the U.S. government and industry can take to strengthen biosecurity defenses against AI-enabled bioweapon development.
In the News
- Jul 31, 2026The Real Reasons to Be Terrified About AI and WMD
- Jul 27, 2026Decision Tree Research CEO Gregory Allen on cybersecurity risks following the OpenAI hack
- Jul 27, 2026AI companies spend record sums on Washington lobbying
Also in the topic guides: Semiconductors and Defense Tech. Or browse the full archive.
Where strategic technologies meet geopolitics. Timely, evidence-based analysis of the big policy debates in AI, semiconductors, and defense tech.
Decision Tree, the newsletter from Gregory C. Allen.